djkal2 Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I recently graduated with a BS in biology and took an interest in the PA career. I've shadowed a few PAs (~20 hours) and enjoyed what I saw, so I figured I would take the next step and start building up my HCE. I took a job as a medical assistant at an OB-Gyn practice without any prior training, as they said they would train me on the job. I've been there for a few months, and working on my own for about two (they trained me for 3 weeks). Overall, I dread going to work every day because I feel very stressed. I usually feel rushed, I work with 2 providers per day who each see around 25-30 pts. I am constantly worried about making a mistake and upsetting the docs, as some can be very dismissive towards me. I enjoy meeting patients, taking vitals, learning about medicine and getting to assist with procedures. What I don't enjoy is the hectic pace throughout the day, entitled patients (more of those than I thought there would be), walking on eggshells around certain providers and always feeling like I'm behind. Before this I always thought I was relatively level-headed, but lately I have been getting stressed out very easily. I feel that I may be undertrained for my job so I am sure that plays a part into my stress. Most of my stress comes from making sure I am doing things the way each provider likes it, as they all have different styles of doing things. Generally I like to work at my own pace and make sure that I am doing my job thoroughly, and I am worried that I won't be able to hack it as a PA if I feel this stressed as a MA. I really love learning about medicine but I'm starting to have doubts if I have the temperament for it. I'm not sure if it is the medical environment that I don't enjoy or being a medical assistant. I have been thinking about becoming a medical laboratory scientist as well, as I enjoyed working in a lab but for some reason it doesn't really draw me in. I've begun looking at other career fields but there is nothing that interests me as much as being a PA. Looking for some advice from those who are already in the field. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted September 14, 2015 Administrator Share Posted September 14, 2015 Might want to try seeing if you can get a job as an MA in a specialist clinic before you give up entirely--they are usually less hectic than primary care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I agree with Rev - find some different HCE or another MA job before you decide for sure. Some of it sounds like the job but some sounds like it might be you. Being a PA (or working in healthcare in general) isn't rainbows and puppies. You will always have entitled patients, you may have an SP just like the docs you have now, you will more than likely have a hectic schedule depending on the field you are in, and there's a chance you will feel behind. When you have patients scheduled with appts or you have to do rounds in a certain amount of time, you won't *really* have the ability to work at your own pace if your pace is sloth like. You definitely need to spend more time getting a variety of HCE to really get a feel for how the medical field works. I'm a former MLS and based on what you've said here, I wouldn't recommend it. You definitely don't get to work at your own pace in the clinical lab (maybe in a research lab if that interests you) and you always have some doc, nurse, boss etc adding to your plate. Also, try and shadow some more to really get an idea of how PAs fit into the system and what THEIR days are like, because that will tell you more about being a PA than working as an MA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious_Ignoramus Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I disagree with Rev - I work in a large hospital system where the specialty clinics see 2-3x the patients as primary care and that's with a number of the attendings in surgery variously throughout the week. Specialty scheduling is backed up on the order of months, they generally don't take walk ins, and a good number of patients have been referred to other facilities due to poor availability. You'll find this a lot in medicine; projected job growth for medical providers has been above average for a good while now and increasing patient panel sizes is just one issue contributing to the overall sector growth. It sounds like you cold called medicine, and have had a rough first date. You've chosen a very busy and crowded profession...I don't personally know you, and can only guesstimate to a certain degree, but had I any serious doubts I would either walk away right now before I invested any more time, or step back (ie time off) and put out some feelers for something more agreeable. It only gets busier from here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camha92 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I felt the same way when i got my first job as a CNA. I think it's normal and it will several months to possibly half a year for you to feel acclimated. Once you do, you will realize how much you've grown professionally and as a person. This was the case for me, at least. It definitely took transition time from my tutoring/mentoring/ITS/research jobs in college to a more rushed medical environment in a nursing home. Stick with it for a bit longer; it will be worth it in a long-run, whether you choose to be in medicine or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoRyou Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 ... I've been there for a few months, and working on my own for about two (they trained me for 3 weeks). I am curious how long is a 'few months'? Something tells me you are your own worst critic, am I right? The reason I say this is because I am like this (and truthfully I think most feel this way especially when they are new. I know I feel this way when I am new). There are specific actions you can take to increase your self-confidence, including focusing on the positive and using positive self-talk. The method is quite simple, yet not very easy to implement on a daily basis—focusing on the positive. The negative illusion comes out when we think about how they are doing at work. Shift your perspective to understand that nobody excels in everything; focus on your strengths. Very logistically, I recommend that people keep a “good stuff file”—when people write you positive notes or letters, save it in that file. When you need confidence for a big meeting or presentation, review the file to increase your self-confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 15, 2015 Moderator Share Posted September 15, 2015 I'm finding as I get older/seasoned/more experienced/whatever I enjoy seeing fewer (and sicker) pts/day, spending more time with them and less time with the computer. In emergency medicine that generally means working rural and/or solo so that is what I am doing more and more each year. as a new grad you really need to see 15-20 pts/day in a given specialty for 5 years or so before you get really comfortable. with recent changes in health care we are all being asked to see more pts, spend less time with them, and spend 2x the time documenting the encounter as we spend on the encounter itself. that gets old and makes you miss critical clinical clues. I am actively looking at ways to leave my urban trauma ctr job where I see 25-35 pts/shifts and only do rural or slower paced/smaller depts. with more interesting pts. as a quality of work life priority. it's working ok right now. just started a shift at one of my rural jobs. hung out with the off going pa for an hr just shooting the breeze as he signed out the 1 pt in the dept ( a syncope workup). what that long winded rant really boils down to is this: find a place to work where you are comfortable. constantly reevaluate your decision and eventually you will find a job that meets all your needs. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoRyou Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Good advice E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkal2 Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thank you everyone for your replies! I admit that I posted this after a particularly hard day. While I do feel stressed at (many) times, generally I feel OK with my job. Camha92, thanks for the words of encouragement - I am definitely going to stick it out for at least 6 months. If I still feel the same way I might look into another position in healthcare, but I am hoping I won't need to. I'm finding as I get older/seasoned/more experienced/whatever I enjoy seeing fewer (and sicker) pts/day, spending more time with them and less time with the computer. In emergency medicine that generally means working rural and/or solo so that is what I am doing more and more each year. as a new grad you really need to see 15-20 pts/day in a given specialty for 5 years or so before you get really comfortable. with recent changes in health care we are all being asked to see more pts, spend less time with them, and spend 2x the time documenting the encounter as we spend on the encounter itself. that gets old and makes you miss critical clinical clues. I am actively looking at ways to leave my urban trauma ctr job where I see 25-35 pts/shifts and only do rural or slower paced/smaller depts. with more interesting pts. as a quality of work life priority. it's working ok right now. just started a shift at one of my rural jobs. hung out with the off going pa for an hr just shooting the breeze as he signed out the 1 pt in the dept ( a syncope workup). what that long winded rant really boils down to is this: find a place to work where you are comfortable. constantly reevaluate your decision and eventually you will find a job that meets all your needs. good luck. Thank you for your long winded rant! I think that 15-20 patients per day would be much less scary for me starting out than the numbers I have seen some of the docs pull in a day, and hopefully my first job will allow me to start small and work up to a larger patient load as I feel more comfortable. I'm sure I will feel more confident coming out of PA school, but right now everything is brand new. One of the reasons I wanted to pursue the PA profession is because I was under the impression that PAs get to spend a little more time with their patients, but perhaps that is going away. For a while in my sophomore year I dabbled in an outpatient physical therapy internship and loved being able to spend 30 minutes with one patient and build a relationship with them over a few months. I am curious how long is a 'few months'? Something tells me you are your own worst critic, am I right? I'm coming up on three months in a week. You're right, I am very hard on myself. I am the type of person where if I don't do it well immediately, I don't want to do it anymore, and over the past few years I have been trying to work at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 15, 2015 Moderator Share Posted September 15, 2015 sorry to break it to you, but PAs don't get any more time for appts than the docs they work with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatStudentGalVal Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Sharing my 2 cents as a current MA who went down this path in order to get those clinic hours for PA school: it honestly just sounds like you are in the wrong office. Each practice has its own quirks and I felt like you did at my first spot, as a matter of fact I got fired for not "picking things up" fast enough. It was a big ego blow, but then I went to another office that actually spent an entire month with me, slowly giving me more and more responsibility. It was such a blesing. At first, everything was terrifying- I didn't want to hurt anyone or make any mistakes and was pretty slow as a result. But, with some positive reinforcement and some good help from compassionate LPNs and Xray techs who had been in my shoes not too long ago, my confidence (and pace) improved. Also, it really helped me to use my new MA skills to volunteer in the community providin health screenings or preventative care services to the un/under insured. It reminded me why I want so bad to be a PA and how important my contribution is and will be in the future. Hang in there, you can do it! Just be sure to do regular check ins with yourself and don't be afraid to try other career paths until you are sure. Better to look around now rather than feel you made (an expensive) mistake later. Feel free to DM me if you would like to chat more. Good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 sorry to break it to you, but PAs don't get any more time for appts than the docs they work with... I still hear that during interviews. Always brings a smile to my face. Keep hope alive I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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